About

The Research Fellows Program is no longer active. This is an archive page of a past CFI program.
The CFI Research Fellows Program encouraged independent researchers and analysts to systematically examine some of the most important challenges in financial inclusion. Each year, we announced a research agenda and selected a cohort of fellows. The Program afforded fellows the opportunity to perform research, analysis, or writing on an important topic, and to share insights and recommendations broadly with the financial inclusion community.

Publications by Fellows

Blog Post

This is part of a <a class="fui-Link ___10kug0w f3rmtva f1ewtqcl fyind8e f1k6fduh f1w7gpdv fk6fouc fjoy568 figsok6 f1hu3pq6 f11qmguv f19f4twv f1tyq0we f1g0x7ka fhxju0i f1qch9an f1cnd47f fqv5qza f1vmzxwi f1o700av f13mvf36 f1cmlufx f9n3di6 f1ids18y f1tx3yz7 f1deo86v f1eh06m1 f1iescvh fhgqx19 f1olyrje f1p93eir f1nev41a f1h8hb77 f1lqvz6u f10aw75t fsle3fq f17ae5zn" title="https://www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/series/digital-cash-transfers-for-women" href="https://www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/series/digital-cash-transfers-for-women" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Link series">series</a> of work done in partnership with CFI and WFP, with funding from the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, that explores how we can improve the design and delivery of digital cash transfers for low-income women.

Cash transfer programs have emerged as a crucial tool in the global effort to combat poverty, overcome shocks and other adversities, and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Cash transfers provide financial support to vulnerable households, enabling them to meet their basic needs, access essential services, and invest in income-generating activities. However, beyond the immediate economic relief they offer, cash transfer programs also have the potential to <a href="https://cdn.odi.org/media/documents/11316.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">address deeper societal issues, including gender inequality</a>. 
<blockquote class="pullquote--right">By putting money directly into the hands of women within households, these programs challenge traditional gender norms and empower women to make decisions about finances, thereby enhancing their control over economic resources.</blockquote>
<a href="https://blogs.worldbank.org/voices/building-back-better-means-designing-cash-transfers-womens-empowerment" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Women's economic empowerment</a> is increasingly recognized as a central objective of cash transfer programs. By <a href="https://docs.wfp.org/api/documents/WFP-0000141256/download/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">putting money directly into the hands of women within households</a>, these programs challenge traditional gender norms and empower women to make decisions about finances, thereby enhancing their control over economic resources. This not only contributes to reducing gender inequalities but also enhances women's access to formal digital financial services and potentially brings additional benefits such as <a href="https://content.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/Bridging-the-gap-1.pdf">increasing access to identification documents</a>. 

As we explore the potential benefits of directing funds to women, a critical question arises: could this approach exacerbate the risk of intimate partner violence (IPV)? This question probes the potential shifts in power dynamics within households and the increased vulnerability women might face as they gain control over financial matters. 

Is this concern rooted in perception, or does substantial evidence support these claims? To dig into this question, a <a href="https://content.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/Sending-Cash-Transfers-to-Women-Report.pdf">comprehensive study</a> conducted by CFI, in partnership with the World Food Programme (WFP) and funded by the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, examined existing evidence and sought insights from experts in the field. The study's findings suggest that directing funds into the hands of women on behalf of their households can in fact reduce the risk factors associated with IPV. This positive outcome is primarily attributed to the alleviation of financial stress within households and improvements in emotional well-being. However, it is essential to acknowledge that despite the potential benefits, cash transfers to women may still trigger instances of IPV, especially in contexts where harmful gender norms are deeply ingrained.
<blockquote>Despite the potential benefits, cash transfers to women may still trigger instances of IPV, especially in contexts where harmful gender norms are deeply ingrained.  </blockquote>
Globally, <a href="https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240026681" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">27 percent</a> of ever-married/partnered women, ages 15 – 49 years, have experienced physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime. Women living in the least developed countries and in countries facing conflicts are disproportionately affected with an even higher prevalence of IPV. Gender inequalities that restrict women’s access to basic services and rigid social norms that support masculinities based on power and control are <a href="https://www.who.int/news/item/09-03-2021-devastatingly-pervasive-1-in-3-women-globally-experience-violence" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">major risk factors leading to IPV</a>. Cash transfers directed to women on behalf of the household can challenge these norms by putting money in the hands of women. However, simply transferring cash is not enough and must be accompanied by <a href="https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/312261/WHO-RHR-18.19-eng.pdf?ua=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">programming to gradually transform gender norms</a>. 

In line with the "do no harm" principle, designing cash transfer programs that effectively minimize the risks of IPV is paramount, particularly in settings where such violence is prevalent. At the same time, it is crucial to consider the impact on IPV beyond the program’s duration and explore how the reduction in IPV can be sustained in the longer term.  
<h1>How to Design Cash Transfer Programs and Send Money to Women While Reducing Risk of Intimate Partner Violence  </h1>
From this research, CFI and WFP developed a <a href="https://content.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/Sending-Cash-Transfers-to-Women-infographic.pdf">guide</a> that details how to design cash transfer programs that enhance household well-being, increase women’s empowerment, and reduce the risks of IPV. It is important to note that effective design and implementation of cash transfer programs directed to women’s accounts should follow a comprehensive assessment of IPV risks, carefully considering contextual factors including prevailing gender norms, socioeconomic dynamics, and political conditions. 

Several key recommendations emerge from our analysis: 

<img class="wp-image-46448 size-full alignnone" src="https://content.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/Screenshot-2023-09-27-at-2.49.17-PM-e1695913799888.png" alt="" width="791" height="607" /> <img class="size-full wp-image-46449 alignnone" src="https://content.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/Screenshot-2023-09-27-at-2.49.32-PM.png" alt="" width="791" height="779" />

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The <a href="https://www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/sending-cash-transfers-to-women-how-to-design-programs-that-enhance-well-being-while-safeguarding-against-intimate-partner-violence">full report</a> from the study details actionable insights backed by lessons and examples from diverse cash transfer programs.

Cash Transfers Directed to Women and the Implications for Intimate Partner Violence: Lessons for Program Design

Report

When cash transfers are safely sent directly to women, they have the potential to address gender inequities by helping women meet basic needs, access essential services, and invest in income-generating activities. But prioritizing women as the primary recipients of cash transfer programs, and thus diverging from traditional practices where men are the heads of households, raises concerns about intimate partner violence (IPV).<span class="EOP SCXW226271306 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}"> This report examines existing evidence on the impact of cash transfers on IPV against women and proposes design approaches to mitigate and minimize those risks. While the report primarily focuses on evidence related to reducing the risk of IPV following cash transfers to women on behalf of households, it also underscores the potential that sending cash to women has for reducing existing IPV. The objective is to foster a constructive dialogue and encourage governments and humanitarian organizations implementing cash transfer programs to prioritize women as the recipients of cash on behalf of their households whenever feasible, while ensuring their safety and adequate support.  

This series, created in partnership with World Food Programme (WFP), the Center for Financial Inclusion (CFI), and the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, shares how we can improve the design and delivery of digital cash transfers for low-income women.

Sending Cash Transfers to Women: How to Design Programs that Enhance Well- Being While Safeguarding Against Intimate Partner Violence

‘Responsible Finance’ is Not Responsible if it’s Not Gender-Intentional

Why is meal planning a recommended financial strategy for women but not for men with children, according to ChatGPT? And why is this important for financial services?

Natural language processing (NLP) tools can create human-like conversations. Perhaps the most well-known application of an NLP tool is ChatGPT, which <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/feb/02/chatgpt-100-million-users-open-ai-fastest-growing-app" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reached over 100 million users two months after its launch</a> in November 2022. Many people have increasingly used ChatGPT as a tool for work or personal use. I wanted to test if ChatGPT showed gender bias when looking at finance-related applications, so I inputted a few prompts about financial services. The results are a reminder that while AI is a powerful tool, it is not free from problematic social norms and potential bias against women. This week CFI <a href="https://www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/equitable-ai-for-inclusive-finance">released two new publications</a> to help strengthen industry conversations to mitigate against, monitor for, and correct harmful gender bias in inclusive finance. These publications are the result of CFI’s winning proposal to USAID’s <a href="https://www.usaid.gov/innovation/competitions/equitable-ai-challenge" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Equitable AI Challenge</a>, implemented by DAI’s Digital Frontiers.
<blockquote class="pullquote--right">One simple prompt revealed three problematic differences. However, they reflect a complex problem requiring an urgent response.</blockquote>
When I asked ChatGPT, or GPT-3.5, to write financial advice to help men and women with children, the answers showed important differences by gender, as seen in the following screenshots. For instance, the tool recommended that men, not women, create or update their wills and designate beneficiaries for their assets. This result demonstrates an existing assumption that men with children are more likely to have assets or income than women with children. Moreover, GPT-3.5 advised only men, not women, to have a work-life balance and spend quality time with their families. Again, this shows a bias about gender roles in work and within families. Another blatant example was the recommendation GPT-3.5 gave to women, but not to men, about planning meals. The tool advised women to cook larger meals at home and plan their grocery shopping to save money.

One simple prompt revealed these three problematic differences. However, they reflect a complex problem requiring an urgent response — especially as many companies, including fintechs, incorporate AI tools, such as NLP, into their business models.

<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-46358" src="https://content.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/EqAI-ChatGPT-01.png" alt="" width="4038" height="3555" />
<h2>Growing Use Cases of AI in Inclusive Finance</h2>
AI has <a href="https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_AI_in_Financial_Services_Survey.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">numerous applications in the financial sector</a>, such as revenue generation, process automation, risk management, client acquisition, and customer service. Companies are increasingly using AI to accelerate lending decisions and use alternative data — including social media, mobile phone activity, and satellite data — to measure creditworthiness. AI presents an opportunity to quickly expand access to financial services for populations without long credit histories, including women. Companies use facial patterns, voice recognition, and biometric data for know-your-customer (KYC) requirements and to verify customers’ identities. Insurance companies use AI algorithms to speed up claims processing. Companies are also using AI tools for client acquisition and customer service. Chatbots and virtual assistants help prospective and existing customers find information about financial products that meet their needs.
<blockquote>Instead of offering helpful customization, the financial advice given perpetuates outdated and unhelpful stereotypes. The resulting harm from biased AI systems used in financial services contradicts the goals of financial inclusion and has potential business and regulatory costs for fintechs and their investors.</blockquote>
However, while AI tools are making high-stakes decisions for the economic prospects and future of individuals, their businesses, and their communities, these systems are also introducing new risks, including data privacy vulnerabilities and unfair outcomes for certain consumers. Women have experienced negative effects, such as being unfairly rejected as “false negative” in credit decisions, or receiving higher pricing, lower credit limits, and more limited choices.  As the above experiment with GPT-3.5 showed, algorithms can provide different financial advice depending on a customer’s gender. When designed well, tailored solutions for different customer segments can increase usage by satisfying the specific needs of the group. However, in this case, instead of offering helpful customization, the financial advice given perpetuates outdated and unhelpful stereotypes. The resulting harm from these issues contradicts the goals of financial inclusion and has potential business and regulatory costs for fintechs and their investors.
<h2>Sources of Harmful Gender Bias</h2>
<img class="wp-image-46360 alignright" src="https://content.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/Screenshot-2023-08-25-at-7.40.18-AM.png" alt="" width="405" height="408" />

CFI has written extensively on the opportunities and risks of AI for inclusive finance, and in 2021, we released a <a href="https://content.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/03/The-Stories-Algorithms-Tell-CFI-publication-MAR21.pdf">framework to help understand algorithmic bias</a>. The framework included three buckets to categorize sources of harmful AI bias: 1) inputs (such as datasets and AI teams), 2) code, and 3) context.

Applying this framework to my experiment with ChatGPT illustrates a few examples of where differences in financial advice by gender may originate. However, it’s important to highlight that these possible explanations are purely theoretical, as we have not tested them empirically.

Inputs: NLP and AI algorithms are trained on data to make predictions and inform decisions. In this case, <a href="https://medium.com/@dlaytonj2/chatgpt-show-me-the-data-sources-11e9433d57e8" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">GTP-3.5 processed input data from the web, books, and WebText2</a>, which is culled from Reddit submissions. As you may imagine, in aggregate these input datasets compile a series of beliefs and social norms, such as the one that suggested that women save money through meal prepping.

Code and Context: As a model is being built, developers can use techniques to reduce biased responses by, for instance, penalizing the model for generating harmful or stereotypical content. AI developers, or other actors, can periodically review model outputs after launch and provide feedback and adjustments over time. However, if the teams testing the system are primarily men, problematic outputs — like from my experiment — may be less likely to be flagged.
<h2>A Path Forward </h2>
As with any technology that experiences exponential growth, stakeholders — like investors, donors, and regulators — must play catch-up, and many questions remain. How, amid all these changes, can concerned stakeholders understand, let alone contribute to, shaping the future of AI in a way that is responsible and equitable, particularly for achieving our target financial inclusion outcomes?

In the inclusive finance sector, many actors are increasingly interested in incorporating principles and tools that guide the responsible and equitable deployment of AI. However, although there is a proliferation of techniques and academic resources to identify, mitigate, and correct bias, our extensive review of over 120 guides and checklists showed a lack of tools appropriately designed for the financial sector.

Recognizing this gap, CFI developed and this week released a <a href="https://content.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/Equitable-AI-Guide.pdf">practical guide</a> to help impact investors identify harmful AI gender bias among their investee companies, and an <a href="https://content.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/Equitable-AI-Brief.pdf">accompanying brief</a> that presents some of the key challenges with building accountability and transparency for AI in inclusive finance and offers opportunities to strengthen the industry conversation. Recommended practices in the guide touch on data, inputs, and model building as well as crucial business practices including governance. For instance, in the case of OpenAI, the creator of GPT-3.5, the company publicly committed that AI should benefit all of humanity and wrote <a href="https://openai.com/safety" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">principles to guide their mission</a>. This stance may explain OpenAI’s six-month effort to make the new version of ChatGPT, GPT-4, safer and with hopefully fewer problematic outputs. I’ll be sure to check back with some prompts for GPT-4!

Read more about our work around equitable AI <a href="https://www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/equitable-ai-for-inclusive-finance">here</a>.

<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-46361" src="https://content.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/Screenshot-2023-08-25-at-7.42.00-AM.png" alt="" width="2054" height="1034" />

*Note: In this blog, gender gaps refer to the gap between women and men. However, CFI acknowledges that gender includes non-binary populations such as LGTBQ communities. It is essential to highlight that this blog does not intend to dismiss the existence of non-binary people.

Gender Bias in AI: An Experiment with ChatGPT in Financial Inclusion

Toolkits and Guides

Artificial intelligence (AI) enables innovations in digital finance that can boost efficiency, cut costs, and expand consumer reach. AI provides scalable ways to determine the creditworthiness of individuals and businesses that historically lacked identification, collateral, and credit history. And by automating processes, AI can enable higher volumes of low-value transactions that make harder-to-reach segments more viable customers. However, while AI presents tremendous opportunities, deploying AI also comes with significant risks – one being inequitable outcomes for marginalized consumers, especially women. When applied at scale, the harms caused by AI counter the financial inclusion goals of many impact investors and their portfolio companies. While impact investors are well positioned to take a proactive role in supporting companies in building and deploying equitable AI systems in inclusive finance services, they often do not have the tools required to assess and evaluate the fairness of algorithms. Recognizing this gap, the Center for Financial Inclusion (CFI) developed a practical guide for impact investors to help them identify harmful AI gender bias.
The Investing in Equitable AI for Inclusive Finance: A Risk Management Guide for Impact Investors gives an overview of the use cases of AI in inclusive finance and some of the drivers of harmful AI bias towards women. It also presents a snapshot of the state of practice in bias identification and mitigation and then provides a user-friendly checklist with an actionable set of questions to help impact investors understand the use of AI among their investee companies.
The accompanying brief, Prompts for Equitable Artificial Intelligence in Inclusive Finance: Strengthening the Industry Conversation, presents some of the key challenges with building accountability and transparency for AI in inclusive finance and discusses how CFI’s new guide can help raise awareness around the risks and costs of gender bias in AI. The brief also offers opportunities to strengthen the industry conversation on equitable AI, including advancing research, supporting consumer advocacy and journalism, and operationalizing data rights for consumers.
This work is the result of USAID’s <a href="https://www.usaid.gov/innovation/competitions/equitable-ai-challenge" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Equitable AI Challenge</a>. Implemented by DAI’s Digital Frontiers, the challenge aimed to identify innovative approaches to address artificial intelligence inequitable outcomes. The Equitable AI Challenge asked for proposals that critically consider holistic and creative approaches to identify and address gender biases in AI systems within global development contexts. This work is the result of CFI’s winning proposal.

Equitable AI for Inclusive Finance

APIs are often viewed as potential solutions for traditional financial institutions, particularly small and midsize banks, to partner with upstart financial technology companies (fintechs) to offer innovate products, especially to low-income customers. In practice, however, due to the maturity of the fintech market, fear of losing competitive advantage, and a variety of strategic errors in planning for and developing APIs, smaller banks and fintechs do not often succeed in deploying API solutions for inclusive finance.  

In this report, based on nearly two dozen interviews with leaders at fintech companies, small and midsize banks, and large financial institutions, CFI Fellow <a href="/bio/dan-kleinbaum">Dan Kleinbaum</a>, examines the extent to which APIs are meeting their potential to facilitate bank and fintech partnerships that advance financial inclusion. Dan breaks down what API integrations between banks and fintechs look like and how typical deployments work. Finally, he offers four recommendations for how to improve API deployments between banks and fintechs to deliver financial services to underserved communities.
<h2>A Typology of APIs</h2>
It is useful for leaders at financial institutions to understand the types of APIs common in financial services. For examples, in API aggregator and platform models shown below, a third-party provides APIs on behalf of financial institutions to institutional customers (e.g., fintechs) in its network. The aggregator or platform may also provide sales, marketing, onboarding and other services. We also explore open and private API models in the report.
<h3>API Aggregator and Platform Models</h3>
<img class="size-large wp-image-37835" src="https://content.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/03/CFI55_API_deployments_FINAL-fig05_graphic-LOGO-1024x596.jpg" alt="API Aggregator and Platform Models" width="1024" height="596" />

API Deployments in Inclusive Finance

Mobile phones and networks are transforming the world of finance, creating opportunities  for widespread financial inclusion, especially among neglected regions and groups. Security and privacy should be among the most important considerations when building digital finance systems.
Credit decisions are often based on sensitive information and online finance offerings are no exception. The sensitivity of this information gives rise to a series of critical questions for customers:
<ul>
 	<li>To whom am I giving my data? And who else do they allow to access it? For what purposes?</li>
 	<li>How do the companies protect data so that people who do not have legitimate access cannot use or steal it?</li>
 	<li>What rights and options do I have if something does go wrong?</li>
</ul>
The goal of this research, conducted by CFI Fellow Patrick Traynor, is to examine how well digital lenders are responding to these questions.

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Digital Finance and Data Security

All over the world, small loans to individuals and very small businesses are increasingly made using digital channels, whether online, via a mobile device or through an agent. However, trust, confidence and responsible lending practices need to be in place to ensure this industry is successful and its customers are protected and empowered.

In <a href="storage/Responsible_Digital_Credit_FINAL_2018.07.18.pdf">Responsible Digital Credit</a>, CFI Fellow John Owens outlines the digital credit landscape and the risks customers face, and examines the best practices, standards and initiatives that exist or should be implemented to improve consumer protection in digital lending. Ultimately, John argues, it will take a village to ensure that digital credit clients are protected—including govenrments, regulators, industry players, advocates and consumers themsleves. He sees three key activities: 1) industry self-regulation, 2) certification of digital credit providers, and 3) directly empowering consumers, as key to the future of what responsible digital credit looks like.

This report is published jointly with the <a href="http://www.smartcampaign.org/">Smart Campaign</a> and was made possible by support from Mastercard Foundation and other partners.

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Responsible Digital Credit

CFI Fellow <a href="/programs-a-projects/cfi-fellows-program/782#AlexisBio">Alexis Beggs Olsen</a> investigates Kenya’s digital financial services (DFS) landscape, the reasons why customers still desire human touch, and the innovative ways in which FSPs integrate human interfaces into their digital product offerings to better serve customers. In Uniting Tech and Touch: Why Centaur Products Are Better for Consumers and Providers, Evidence from Kenya, Alexis takes us along the customer journeys of Kenyan DFS users to illuminate the circumstances where they prefer human touch, the variations in customer preferences across demographic characteristics, and the particular pain points of low-touch digital loans, savings and insurance products.

Alexis finds that although Kenyans are comfortable conducting transactions digitally, other key aspects of the financial service customer journey are not adequately handled by digital means alone. Based on 104 in-depth qualitative interviews, Alexis discovers that Kenyans particularly want human touch for three reasons:

1. To verify the legitimacy of the FSP
2. To fully understand the product
3. To resolve problems or complaints

To address these needs, Alexis recommends “centaur” solutions—ones that combine human and digital interfaces—to provide valuable human interaction to customers where it is needed most, while improving customer acquisition and retention in the process. FSPs, their customers, and the financial inclusion community can benefit from leveraging centaur solutions that combine the best of tech and touch to convert customers who are currently uncomfortable with these digital interfaces into regular digital financial services users.

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<img class="alignnone size-large wp-image-29309" src="https://content.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/04/Technology-Inequality-Inforgraphic-330x1024.png" alt="" width="330" height="1024" />

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Uniting Tech and Touch: Why Centaur Products Are Better for Consumers and Providers - Evidence from Kenya

CFI Fellows <a href="programs-a-projects/cfi-fellows-program/781#MishaBio">Misha Sharma</a> and <a href="programs-a-projects/cfi-fellows-program/781#ShreyaBio">Shreya Chatterjee</a> evaluate the factors currently shaping the adoption of digital financial services by emerging consumers in India and assess the crucial role that frontline banking agents play in helping to successfully transition their clients to digital platforms. The authors find that despite significant progress toward digital financial inclusion in India, agents still matter for bringing low-income consumers into the digital fold. Specifically, while agents largely assist with product adoption and use, their value to the financial sector and the financial institutions they represent goes beyond these responsibilities—they are the key to building trust, resolving problems, and ensuring value for customers. The report also articulates the state of agent practice in India and outlines 10 principal insights on training, equipping, and promoting financial product awareness among agents within the three types of assessed institutions—commercial banks, payment banks and microfinance institutions (MFIs).

In their evaluation of agent effectiveness in India, Misha and Shreya consider the following criteria:
<ul>
 	<li>Adequate Resources. Do agents have sufficient technical, financial, and administrative resources?</li>
 	<li>Awareness and Knowledge About Digital Financial Services. Do agents have the knowledge to make customers aware of the existence and uses of digital products, and build trust in the process?</li>
 	<li>Motivation. Are agents willing and motivated to spend the time needed to promote awareness and assist customers?</li>
</ul>
These factors—resources, knowledge, and motivation—ensure that agents can effectively assist novice digital financial services customers and convert them into habitual users, and are therefore clear priorities for the financial services providers the agents represent. The authors find that the degree of resource availability differs by institution type and affects the agents' ability to assist customers with digital financial services in various ways. Ultimately, the authors find that business correspondent agents have the right combination of resources, knowledge, and motivation to help customers transition to digital financial services; credit officers (the "agents" of MFIs) are well-positioned to influence their customers once MFIs avail these services; and payment bank agents are least able to influence their clients to adopt or use digital financial services.

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Agents of Change: How the Human Touch Is Bringing Digital Financial Services to New Customers in India

In this report, CFI Fellow <a href="programs-a-projects/cfi-fellows-program/784#JustynaBio">Justyna Pytkowska</a> outlines six strategies that microfinance institutions across Europe and Central Asia use to deploy financial capability interventions, and evaluates whether these institutions successfully integrate and sustainably fund these programs within their core lines of business:
<ol>
 	<li>Income From Fees, Services or Materials</li>
 	<li>Grants and Subsidies</li>
 	<li>Absorption Into Marketing or Corporate Social Responsibility Budgets</li>
 	<li>Integration Into Credit Processes and Routine Client Interactions</li>
 	<li>Cost-Sharing Through Partnerships</li>
 	<li>Use of Volunteers</li>
</ol>
This report unpacks these findings and highlights their implications for other organizations interested in developing their own financial capability programs for the benefit of microfinance clients around the world.

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Delivering Financial Capability: A Look at Business Approaches

In this research, Guy Stuart, CFI Fellow and Executive Director of Microfinance Opportunities, assesses whether and how G2P payments increase formal financial inclusion. Stuart coupled observations, interviews and focus groups in Colombia and Pakistan with extensive analysis of reports on G2P payments covering 19 countries and quantitative data from the World Bank Global Findex.

While Stuart’s research identifies five key mechanisms by which G2P payments could lead to greater financial inclusion, the evidence ultimately suggests that G2P beneficiaries do not take advantage of the basic and common functionality of these programs.

Stuart provides insightful recommendations for government and the private sector to design better products, optimize delivery of payments, and effectively communicate the advantages of these programs to beneficiaries.

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Government to Person Transfers

In this report, Christy Stickney, CFI Fellow and independent consultant, highlights the characteristics of owners of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) whose businesses have overcome significant hurdles and grown from their micro size.

Christy has utilized qualitative research to identify and analyze clients of MFIs whose borrowing had increased significantly over time from the portfolios of three leading microfinance institutions in Latin America – MiBanco (Peru), Banco Solidario (Ecuador), and Banco ADOPEM (the Dominican Republic). As part of the research, Christy conducted 55 in-depth client interviews and consulted with institution staff. She identifies and describes in detail a select group of "growth entrepreneurs" (GEs) who operate higher growth businesses, have overcome significant growth hurdles, and express a clear vision for future business growth. Christy argues that this category of emerging SMEs holds great potential for future growth and job creation.

Christy also provides recommendations for financial institutions (including microfinance institutions [MFIs]), FinTech companies, governments, and other financial ecosystem actors to support growth and greater financial inclusion for emerging SMEs and growth entrepreneurs.

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Emerging SMEs—Secrets to Growth from Micro to Small Enterprise

Since the debut of mobile financial services (MFS) 10 years ago, the sector is now preparing for a switch to smartphones that will enable even more and better services. Not so fast, cautions CFI Fellow Leon Perlman.

In his report, Technology Inequality: Opportunities and Challenges for Mobile Financial Services, Perlman steers readers through a primer on the technology that enables MFS to operate on basic, feature and smart phones. But more importantly, the report sounds a cautionary note about the readiness of the sector for a large-scale shift to smartphone and internet-based MFS, particularly for low-end consumers. Leon's on-the-ground research conducted in 12 different countries finds that smartphone-enabled MFS is not an impending panacea for financial inclusion. Due to the slow spread of reliable, high-quality 3G coverage and sufficiently capable smartphones, the majority of MFS will be accessed on feature phones, using Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD), SIM Application Toolkit (STK) and java-applets, rather than internet-enabled smartphones, for the forseeable future.

This report urges regulators and technology providers to continue supporting MFS based on feature phones, even as they work to create paths for new-generation services. While smartphones promise more intuitive and richer user interfaces, this promise will take some time to materialize fully and robustly. If mobile financial services are to be a force for financial inclusion, we must not prematurely abandon older technologies as we concurrently push to create a smartphone-based future.
<h2><img class="size-large wp-image-29309 alignright" src="https://content.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/04/Technology-Inequality-Inforgraphic-330x1024.png" alt="" width="330" height="1024" />Major Findings</h2>
<ul>
 	<li>For MFS to continue to grow, it is important to continue supporting feature phones with USSD and STK interfaces.
MFS, for people at the base of the economic pyramid (BoP), are currently provided largely on feature phones operating across 2G mobile networks and using menu-driven, text-based user interfaces. The main technologies facilitating MFS here are Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD),Short Message Service (SMS) in its SIM Application Toolkit (STK) incarnation, and Java applets.Feature phones are likely to dominate MFS for BoP for the foreseeable future. While smartphones are penetrating BoP markets, the pace remains relatively slow. Additonally, feature phone manufacturing is actually growing. As early mobile technology patents expire, feature phone costs will continue to drop and use will grow.</li>
 	<li>Realizing the promise of smartphones for MFS first requires improving their technical specifications and the presence of high-speed networks. Cheap smartphones are not yet sophisticated enough to support MFS. Gaps in high-speed 3G mobile data coverage persist, especially in MFS-focused rural and peri-urban areas. Where there is no 3G coverage, there is usually no 4G coverage either. While 3G (and 4G) coverage is predominant in urban areas and along major highways, rural areas still receive mainly 2G coverage.</li>
 	<li>Costs, for both customers and providers, are the source of many of constraints to smartphone MFS adoption. Data costs for data-hungry smartphones may be prohibitive for many BoP users. Manufacturers produce less sophisticated phones to keep prices affordable for the mass market. Mobile network operators (MNOs) face high costs for acquiring spectrum and building infrastructure in rural areas in order to expand and upgrade service.</li>
 	<li>Security vulnerabilities on MFS channels and devices put customer transactions and MFS systems at risk. The 1970s-era Signaling System 7 (SS7) technology that enables mobile phone (and landline) communications is not secure and has been exploited by bad actors for decades. The standard mobile air platform is susceptible to relatively cheap, homemade devices performing “man-in-the-middle” interception of mobile voice, SMS and data traffic. Counterfeit and stolen phone sales are increasing and  some MFS smartphone apps are designed with insufficient security. On the brighter side, MFS apps on feature phones and written in Java mostly use encrypted SMS, so they could provide a secure and ubiquitous means of transacting.</li>
 	<li>Policy makers must address competition issues for MFS systems. Access to service gateways should be fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory. MNOs may be gatekeepers for access to services and infrastructure for competing MFS providers. Those competing service providers may be handicapped (“foreclosed”) by being denied access to USSD or STK gateways and short codes or through prohibitive pricing. Also, MNOs and non-bank service providers may be denied access to payment infrastructures required to interoperate or provide services such as merchant acceptance or ATM withdrawals. Thin SIM technology is being implemented in several countries as a technical fix to evade such blockages.</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;

Technology Inequality: Opportunities and Challenges for Mobile Financial Services

Blog Posts by Fellows

Swati Mehta

A comprehensive study by CFI and WFP suggests that directing funds into the hands of women on behalf of their households can reduce risk factors associated with intimate partner violence (IPV). This blog post highlights how to design cash transfer programs and send money to women while reducing the risk of IPV.

Joanna Ledgerwood

Reflecting on conversations from the 2023 RFF event, CFI's Advisory Council chair Joanna Ledgerwood writes about why DFS risks are greater for women and what is needed for addressing and preventing these risks to increase women's digital inclusion.

Lucciana Alvarez Ruiz

Following the release of CFI's Equitable AI Guide and Brief, Lucciana Alvarez Ruiz identifies issues with popular AI tools, like ChatGPT, and how AI can result in harmful gender bias if key challenges with building accountability and transparency are not addressed.

Nina Liew

Columbia University SIPA graduate, Nina Liew, considers how fintechs can challenge discriminatory gender norms, intentionally design products for women users, and diversify their organization to further benefit women.

On the outskirts of sprawling Delhi, 34-year-old Maya opens her kirana, a small grocery store, for the day. Sleeves of shampoo packets and dry snacks line the walls around the counter where Maya serves up to 80 customers on a good day. She accepts payments in cash as well as digital payments on her smartphone, thanks to India’s successful <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/zennonkapron/2023/04/10/is-indias-upi-real-time-payments-system-ready-to-go-global/?sh=298e95e94d14" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Unified Payments Interface (UPI) system</a>. However, while Maya’s name is registered as the business and bank account owner, she does not know much about the bank account or the business finances beyond her handwritten ledger book. Instead, her husband manages the banking relationship, and she must ask him for more cash or information about the account balance.
<blockquote>Many registered businesses are owned and managed by women only on paper; their lived realities are much different.</blockquote>
According to the Indian Ministry of Micro, Small &amp; Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), <a href="https://msme.gov.in/msme-annual-report-2022-23" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">women only own 20 percent of Indian MSMEs</a>. While this is already a small figure, ​​​​<a href="https://www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/fight-gender-inequality-prioritizing-womens-customer-experience-in-product-design-and-complaint-resolution-processes">interviews conducted in March 2023</a> with 38 women business owners in India suggest that this number may be even lower. Many registered businesses are owned and managed by women only on paper; their lived realities are much different.

<img class="aligncenter wp-image-46289" src="https://content.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/Nina-Liew-blog-graphic.png" alt="" width="1009" height="235" />
<h1>Challenging Existing Norms</h1>
Providing financial services to women in low- and middle-income countries <a href="https://www.povertyactionlab.org/policy-insight/designing-financial-services-and-social-protection-programs-enhance-womens-economic" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">does not necessarily result in economic empowerment</a> if women do not or cannot make the decisions about their finances. Of the Indian women micro- and small-business (MSE) owners interviewed, over one-third relied on a man — typically a husband or brother — to manage or assist in their use of financial services, even if the woman was the registered owner of the business and bank account. When asked why, women said it was because of personal preference, a lack of confidence in operating the account, or that it was the man’s choice. This was true of interviewees with a master’s degree as well as those with lower levels of formal education, illustrating the pervasiveness of gender norms across education levels.

Managing the business’ day-to-day finances extends to resolving issues with a bank or fintech. Women who rely on their husbands or brothers to operate their bank accounts will often wait for them to contact the agent -- who is usually a man -- to resolve any complaints. This process is time-consuming and causes friction in women’s daily business activities. Consequently, these women may turn away customers if they do not have enough cash or lack information on accessing financial services for business improvement or growth.

For women in India to fully realize their economic contribution to the Indian economy, we must challenge and change existing norms. The current lack of equality represents a missed opportunity as bona fide access to formal financial services enables women to build their assets and wealth, improving their wellbeing and the wellbeing of their families.
<h1>Benefits for Women and Businesses</h1>
The burgeoning fintech sector has the pivotal opportunity to create better outcomes for women. India’s fintech sector is one of the fastest growing in the world, with approximately <a href="https://www.bain.com/insights/india-fintech-report-2022-sailing-through-turbulent-tides/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">USD $35 billion invested</a>, more than doubling India’s share of global fintech funding since 2016. However, many fintechs are “gender-neutral” and do not design intentionally for diverse genders, reinforcing discriminatory gender norms. For example, because women tend to have <a href="https://www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/an-equitable-rebuilding-learnings-from-women-owned-msmes">lower rates of digital transactions or formal financial assets</a>, it can be more challenging for them to meet loan eligibility requirements. When fintechs have a gender-neutral approach, the <a href="https://www.inclusivefintech50.com/2022-insights" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">gender gap is 28 percent higher</a> than the gap for bank accounts or smartphone ownership.
<blockquote class="pullquote--left">Many fintechs are “gender-neutral” and do not design intentionally for diverse genders, reinforcing discriminatory gender norms.</blockquote>
Advancing gender-intelligent changes and developing strategies to overcome women’s specific constraints can help fintechs tap into the <a href="https://financialallianceforwomen.org/download/how-fintechs-can-profit-from-the-multi-trillion-dollar-female-economy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">$216 trillion global market</a> controlled by women. Research by the Financial Alliance for Women shows that fintechs could see a ​​​​<a href="https://financialallianceforwomen.org/download/how-fintechs-can-capture-the-female-economy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">70 percent increase in revenues</a> by converting new women customers at the same rate as men. While building economic power for women on its own is a compelling reason to inspire change, this financial incentive is an additional driving force for investor-backed and profit-driven fintechs to prioritize gender-inclusive design and compete in an increasingly crowded market.
<h1>Increasing Diversity Is a Crucial Driver of Change</h1>
One fundamental way that fintechs can adapt their strategies to benefit women is by increasing their organizational diversity. From its interviews with the <a href="https://www.inclusivefintech50.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Inclusive Finance 50</a> fintech winners, CFI found that women-led fintechs were <a href="https://www.inclusivefintech50.com/2021-insights" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">more likely</a> to explicitly target and serve more women customers and report gender segmentation data, which is necessary for gender-intelligent decision making. This staff diversity should extend to customer-facing roles, such as the agents and distributors interacting with women customers, and women business correspondents are critical in <a href="https://www.adb.org/publications/digital-doorstep-banking-female-banking-agents-lead-digital-financial-inclusion-through-the-pandemic-and-beyond" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">expanding financial inclusion</a>. Interfacing with women staff makes it easier for women business owners to manage financial matters as women place a higher value on building personal relationships with agents and building trust over time.
<blockquote class="pullquote--right">Women-led fintechs were more likely to explicitly target and serve more women customers and report gender segmentation data.</blockquote>
Investors and regulators can also incentivize and require fintechs to make these changes. For example, through <a href="https://www.womensworldbanking.org/what-we-do/gender-lens-investing/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">gender lens investing</a>, Women’s World Banking works toward higher social and financial returns. Their in-depth approach uses fintech data to develop customized, strategic Gender Action Plans, and their first fund saw an <a href="https://www.womensworldbanking.org/what-we-do/gender-lens-investing/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">83 percent increase in women reached</a> by portfolio companies. 

Although fintechs alone cannot bring about an overnight transformation in societal and gender norms, taking these steps represents a real and immediate opportunity to initiate change for the economic empowerment of women in India and beyond.



<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/camilla-nestor-640b70">Camilla Nestor</a>, Advisory Council Member of CFI and CEO of MCE Capital, teaches a financial inclusion course at Columbia’s <a href="https://www.sipa.columbia.edu/">School of International and Public Affairs</a> (SIPA). Each year, the course features a writing competition that gives students an opportunity to write a blog post on a topic of their choice related to inclusive finance. This piece was written by the winner of the 2023 writing competition, Nina Liew.

This work is inspired by a graduate research project conducted by students at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs in consultation with CFI and with support from <a href="https://ifmrlead.org/">LEAD at Krea University</a>. Nina and the team of graduate students focused on digital financial inclusion and consumer protection for women MSE owners in India. They interviewed 38 women MSE owners, bank and fintech agents, and fintech executives in India in March 2023. 

Note: The story in this post was created as an amalgamation of interviewees.

Power in Practice – or Only on Paper? Addressing the Financial Gaps Affecting Women Business Owners in India

Nikita Chettri

Evelina Durlind

Leonie Rauls

Ulayya Gempur Tirani

Marina Santos Piacente

Interviews with 38 women MSE owners in India emphasize the need for banks and fintechs to adopt a gender-intelligent approach to better understand how women use complaint resolution processes and design offerings that address their specific needs.

This blog post was generated from a research project conducted by a team of graduate students from Columbia University’s <a href="https://www.sipa.columbia.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">School of International and Public Affairs</a>, in consultation with CFI and with support from <a href="https://ifmrlead.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">LEAD at Krea University</a>. The team focused on digital financial inclusion and consumer protection for women micro- and small-enterprise (MSE) owners in India and interviewed 38 women MSE owners, bank and fintech agents, and fintech executives in India in March 2023. Please note: Akanksha is a composite character based on interview anecdotes.  

It is the middle of the day in Noida in Uttar Pradesh, and an angry customer storms into Akanksha’s small mobile phone and banking agent shop. The customer demands to know why his parents have not yet received the money he transferred to them at Akanksha’s shop yesterday. To calm him down, Akanksha explains that the bank app’s server experienced an electrical outage in the morning that stalled all transactions. However, the customer continues to demand an immediate fix. 
<blockquote class="pullquote--left">As a woman, building trust with male customers has been particularly challenging, but she must do so since most customers are men. </blockquote>
In addition to running her shop, Akanksha is an agent for banks and fintechs, offering mobile money transfers and various utility services. In this scenario, she faces a tough decision. Akanksha must choose how to address the customer’s complaint – she can try to resolve the issue via the bank app, contact her area distributor — the middleman between banks or fintechs and the network of local agents serving customers, or close her shop and visit the bank. How she handles this complaint is critical, as she must maintain her customer base and the hard-earned trust of her customers. As a woman, building trust with male customers has been particularly challenging, but she must do so since most customers are men. 

Akanksha, a woman in her mid-thirties with a bachelor’s degree, is not confident in filing a formal complaint using the app, which only has instructions in English. She also does not want to file a formal complaint out of fear that staff may escalate her issue to upper management, damaging her relationship with bank staff or her distributor. She attempts to contact her distributor on WhatsApp, but he does not answer. Because her husband is busy at work, Akanksha has no choice but to close her shop early and walk to the bank to talk to a staff member in person.  
<h2 style="text-align: center;"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-46280" src="https://content.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/SIPA_quote1.png" alt="" width="1074" height="180" /></h2>
<h1>Minor Issues With Major Implications </h1>
While Akanksha’s story is fictional, it is not an uncommon situation for many women MSE owners in India. A team of graduate students from Columbia University interviewed 38 women in India who use digital financial services (DFS) to understand their user experiences with banking and fintech apps, especially concerning the complaints journey. The interviews revealed that a stalled transaction is just one of several common issues faced daily by women MSE owners and agents like Akanksha. Stalled transactions and outages are so common that one interviewee described this as “just a part of life.” Almost all interviewees (35 out of 38) experienced at least one minor issue like this when using banking or fintech apps. Because each instance takes valuable time to resolve and leads to lost revenue, the effects of “minor” issues can significantly impact MSE owners’ businesses. One interviewee reported closing her shop for 15-minute periods multiple times a day to walk to the bank and settle matters in person.  

Akanksha’s experience highlights some of the barriers to complaints resolution and consumer protection for women MSE owners in India, driven by low confidence in DFS and a reliance on personal relationships with distributors and staff. In an interview with one fintech CEO – whose company was also among the <a href="https://www.inclusivefintech50.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Inclusive Fintech 50</a> winners – she said, “Women do not come screaming and shouting; this never happens. Local partners are more approachable. It is a business relationship; if you go to that level, it is also a social relationship.” 

An example of this type of social relationship is how many women agents rely on and highly value their personal relationships with distributors who travel to different communities to collect and disburse cash to agents. One agent even described her distributor as her “mentor and guru.” However, this relationship can also be vulnerable; distributors can exploit agents who depend on them for operational needs and resolving issues. Furthermore, if complaints are made informally to the distributor, which is often true for women, distributors are not incentivized to formally record complaints. As a result, the absence of an official record limits management’s oversight of the challenges women agents face.  
<h1>Finding Solutions That Better Serve Women </h1>
<a href="https://www.microsave.net/2018/10/24/consumer-protection-in-the-digital-age/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Existing literature</a> points to factors such as literacy levels, a difficult interface, and a lack of trust that prevent the adoption and use of DFS. However, there remains a gap in understanding the challenges in post-adoption utilization of services, particularly in the face of weak consumer protection provisions by low-income women users. Therefore, in our study, we aimed to explore how consumer protection policies impacted the experiences of women MSEs in using DFS, particularly with complaint redressal.

We found that, generally, women were not comfortable with the process of submitting formal complaints. Despite fintechs and DFS providers having established complaints handling processes under their consumer protection policies, they are often inadequate in supporting their women users. This results in many women abandoning platforms altogether. 
<h2 style="text-align: center;"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-46281" src="https://content.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/SIPA_quote2.png" alt="" width="1075" height="180" /></h2>
The interviews with women users in India showed that they highly value personal relationships and prefer in-person complaint resolution. However, women face higher challenges to complaint redressal because of their strong preference for resolving issues through social interactions and providers’ lack of gender-sensitive consumer protection policies. As such, to accommodate women’s user preferences, banks and fintechs need to adopt <a href="https://www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/the-case-for-a-gender-intelligent-approach-an-opportunity-for-inclusive-fintechs">gender-intelligent</a> strategies.

Through a gender-intelligent approach, banks and fintechs can better understand how women use complaint resolution processes and ultimately design offerings that address their specific needs. This approach can help <a href="https://www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/the-case-for-a-gender-intelligent-approach-an-opportunity-for-inclusive-fintechs">change entrenched gender inequalities</a> and <a href="https://financialallianceforwomen.org/download/how-fintechs-can-capture-the-female-economy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">benefit</a> companies’ bottom lines. Therefore, solutions should focus on directly addressing women’s specific needs while considering the ability to achieve scale.

Based on the research interviews, we recommend that banks and fintechs consider the following:
<h3>1. Banks and fintechs should develop support features that strengthen women agents’ ability to use their apps confidently.</h3>
This approach could include robust in-person onboarding, training, and support in learning to use the app’s features. While this element is considered “high-touch,” <a href="https://www.accion.org/the-path-forward-for-human-touch-in-a-high-tech-world" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the tech-touch balance</a> is vital in providing inclusive financial services. Women users also reported that certain apps and resources were only available in English. Consequently, financial service products should be available in local languages and cater to varying literacy levels.
<h3>2. Banks and fintechs should formalize the full scope of the complaint process for their digital financial services.</h3>
Our research found that many women agents resolve complaints through informal mechanisms such as calling, texting (including WhatsApp), or meeting in person with distributors. Therefore, banks and fintechs should update processes and incentives to record distributor interactions and include them in formal complaint resolution processes and metrics.
<h3>3. Banks and fintechs should build user communities that enable high-touch and in-person support at scale.</h3>
Due to the travel-intensive and vulnerable cash collection nature of the role, most distributors are men. However, there is an opportunity to engage women as distributors to support women agents – one example is creating an “ambassador” program where established and high-performing women agents onboard and help new women agents. The incentive for becoming an ambassador is recognition as an expert and leader within the community. While many of our interviewees said they did not know other women agents, we saw that those who had learned from other women had higher competency levels in using the bank and fintech apps.   
<h3>4. There should be more physical meeting spaces or local offices for women customers to meet staff and raise complaints.</h3>
For example, one gender-intelligent fintech established local meeting hubs to support women using fintech services. By providing a secure environment and personalized assistance, the space motivated women customers to raise issues and embrace a broader range of digital financial services, ultimately improving customer loyalty and lifetime value to fintechs.

These recommendations are merely the beginning of the transformative potential of digital financial services in advancing financial inclusion and consumer protection for women. By taking experiences like Akanksha’s into account during the product design and complaint resolution processes, banks and fintechs can forge a more inclusive complaints-handling strategy. Such an approach would enable women MSE owners and agents to thrive, expand their businesses, and achieve greater economic prosperity. When more women feel they can use DFS and fintech successfully, financial service providers can expand their business reach, demonstrating that gender-intelligent design is a win for all.

Fight Gender Inequality: Prioritizing Women’s Customer Experience in Product Design and Complaint Resolution Processes

Former Fellows

Karthik Venkataraman is a leader in Bain&#8217;s ESG and Social Impact practices, based in Washington, D.C. He is an expert in Travel &amp; Leisure and Organization. With more than 25 years of industry and consulting experience, he has worked in Bain&#8217;s London and Singapore offices. His probono efforts focus primarily on financial inclusion, and he is a member of the Center for Financial Inclusion&#8217;s Advisory Council. He is on the Board of Education for Employment, focused on job training and placement in the MENA region. Karthik also led Bain&#8217;s DE&amp;I transformation and is a leader in the firm&#8217;s Asians@Bain affinity group.

Partner, Bain & Company

Karthik Venkataraman

Astrid de Valon is leading the United Nations World Food Programme’s work on Digital Financial Inclusion and Women&#8217;s Economic Empowerment along with a team of talents. She is passionate about putting more money into more women’s hands, listening to their voices, and improving their experiences when receiving assistance on their own digital financial accounts. She started her career in the private sector with the Boston Consulting Group and spent over eighteen years in Africa and at the global level with UN Agencies, International NGOs, the European Union, and the OECD. Astrid holds an MBA from ESSEC Business School, France, and Universität Manheim, Germany.

Global Lead, Digital Financial Inclusion and Women's Economic Empowerment, United Nations World Food Programme

Astrid de Valon

Swati is a development researcher with over fourteen years of experience advising businesses, international development organizations, and governments on ways to ensure inclusive development, especially when using digital pathways. She has worked on the interconnected themes of digital financial inclusion, financial literacy, women’s economic empowerment, digital livelihoods, and consumer protection. Swati has worked with GIZ and MicroSave Consulting, where she worked on advancing digital financial inclusion in Asia and Africa. She holds a Ph.D. in economic geography and is a German Chancellor Fellow 2017-2018. She has conducted extensive research on the financial transitions of refugees in Jordan and Germany, specifically exploring the role of digital financial services. Swati&#8217;s contributions are disseminated through academic papers, reports, essays, blogs, and articles. She currently serves as a consultant for various development organizations.

Financial Inclusion Consultant

Marina Santos Piacente is a finance professional who has recently completed her master&#8217;s of public administration at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, with a focus on economic development.
Marina has worked in finance for over six years, having closed +30 deal transactions in both South America and the U.S. Her motivation to leverage her experience in finance to channel capital towards projects or companies solving social and environmental matters drove her to join SIPA and focus her career on the intersection between finance and impact.
Marina also holds a bachelor&#8217;s in business economics from Universidad Torcuato Di Tella in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and spent a semester abroad in Milan, Italy, at Bocconi University.

Graduate Student Consultant

Ulayya is a policy associate with interests in financial inclusion and education. She graduated from Columbia University SIPA with an MPA in economic and political development and holds a bachelor&#8217;s in accounting from Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia.
Before joining SIPA Columbia, Ulayya was a finance professional in a consumer goods company, handling corporate finance and internal control.

Leonie Rauls is a senior policy associate at J-PAL Global. In this role, she manages the Agriculture Sector&#8217;s Agricultural Technology Adoption Initiative (ATAI), writes policy publications, conducts policy outreach for evidence dissemination, and helps cultivate new research partnerships.
Prior to joining J-PAL, she worked as a journalist for Americas Quarterly, a publication covering Latin American politics, economics, and culture. She has also worked with the International Crisis Group in Bogotá, Colombia.
Leonie holds a master&#8217;s of international affairs with a concentration in economic development from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and a BA in political science and Spanish from Amherst College.

Nina is a program specialist and strategist with over seven years of experience successfully delivering strategy and operations projects for private, public, and non-profit organizations.
Before joining Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), Nina was the chief of staff at an international social enterprise, worked as a management consultant at Nous Group in Australia where she advised clients on strategy, policy and research, and led Australia’s largest youth-run microfinance organization providing pro-bono consulting services to MFIs across the Asia-Pacific.
Nina graduated from Columbia University SIPA with an MPA in economic and political development, management, and data analytics. She also holds a bachelor of commerce in economics and finance from the University of Melbourne.

Evelina is a sustainable finance professional and currently completing her master&#8217;s in economics and political development, specializing in data analytics, at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA).
As a teaching assistant for SIPA’s “Financial Inclusion,” Evelina researches the latest innovation in digital inclusive finance, and as a teaching assistant for “Methods for Sustainable Development” leads classes in design, monitoring, and evaluation. At UN DESA, Evelina worked on projects for the Global Investors for Sustainable Development Alliance.
Before SIPA, Evelina worked in digitalization at Salesforce strategizing API management and integration solutions for Scandinavian public sector organizations. Prior to this, she was an investment associate in wealth management, and she holds a BSc in economics from the University of Exeter.

Nikita Chettri is a development professional with experience working in gender policy and advocacy with an interest in development finance and inclusive technology.
She recently completed her master&#8217;s of public administration at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs in development practice. Prior to Columbia University, she worked with the Self-Employed Women&#8217;s Association (SEWA) in India. There, she contributed to research initiatives focused on the informal economy and conducted studies on the digital and financial accessibility of micro and small enterprises (MSEs).
Nikita also holds a bachelor of arts degree in economics from the University of British Columbia, Canada.

Mr. Alfred Jusu is a financier with a passion for providing access to finance to smallholder farmers and other vulnerable rural populations that are distrusted, and therefore excluded, from the formal financial sector.
He has 15 years of experience. Between 2012 and 2019, he was the Head of Agricultural Finance at Apex Bank (SL) Ltd., an IFAD-funded rural finance network that has the largest footprint in Sierra Leone. Since February 2019, he has been the executive director of Munafa Social Microfinance, a pro-poor microfinance institution, promoted by the French NGO, <a href="https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&amp;&amp;p=efa2a0af62286c93JmltdHM9MTY1Nzc1MDQyOCZpZ3VpZD0yMTQyNTg0Yi1iNTA5LTQ0MjItODRlMS0xZTlkNGIzNjNmYjcmaW5zaWQ9NTE4OA&amp;ptn=3&amp;hsh=3&amp;fclid=119a81ab-02f9-11ed-88d7-8eb25a3c058d&amp;u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZW50cmVwcmVuZXVyc2R1bW9uZGUub3JnL2VuLw&amp;ntb=1">Entrepreneurs du Monde</a>, that provides access to finance and socio-economic education for vulnerable populations in Sierra Leone, achieved by removing several barriers: collateral, guarantor or guarantee.
During his Humphrey year, he intends to do a comparative analysis of the agricultural finance systems of the United States and Sierra Leone, and leverage US networks to invest in agriculture in his country.

Boston University Fulbright Humphrey Fellow

Alfred Jusu

Magda Bianco serves as the GPFI co-chair and Head of the new Directorate General for Consumer Protection and Financial Education as of June 2020.
Magda began her career in 1989 when she joined the Bank of Italy, working in the Research Department, first in the Sector and Region Analysis Unit and then in the Financial Flows Unit, becoming head of the department in 1997. Two years later, she moved to the Law and Economics Unit and, in 2007, was appointed Head of the Law and Economics Division, which later merged into the Research Department.
Magda has published articles on corporate governance, corporate finance, bankruptcy, the economics of civil justice, and, more generally, on regulatory matters and gender issues. She has taught Industrial Organization and Corporate Governance courses at several Italian universities.
She served as an economic advisor to the Italian Minister of Justice in 2012-2013 and has been an economic and financial consultant to the Ministry since 2013. She is a Research Associate of the European Corporate Governance Institute and a member of the Executive Board of the Italian Society of Law and Economics and of the OECD Committee on Corporate Governance. She sits on the Bank of Italy&#8217;s Equal Opportunity Committee.
Magda Bianco graduated with honors in Economics from the University of Bergamo and went on to receive an M.Sc. and a Ph.D. in Economics from the London School of Economics.

Co-Chair, Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI) & Head of the Directorate General for Consumer Protection and Financial Education, Banca d’Italia

Magda Bianco

Chantelle Macey is a consultant with over 12 years of program management experience in global philanthropic and financial services organizations. She has a passion for identifying and supporting financial solutions that can increase the prosperity of low-income people, small businesses, and their communities. Prior to her career in consulting, Chantelle worked as a Program Manager at Mastercard Foundation where she led a team of MSME experts and managed a portfolio of financial inclusion projects with an emphasis on private-sector partnerships. Before joining the Foundation, Chantelle worked for the National Bank of Canada in Credit Risk Management and Corporate Treasury where she was responsible for fixed-income program management and investor relations. She holds a master of arts in development economics and a bachelor of commerce.

Project Manager, Inclusive Fintech 50

Chantelle Macey

Peter is a Policy Advisor to Queen Máxima of the Netherlands who is the United Nations Secretary-General&#8217;s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA). In this capacity Peter provides policy and regulatory advice to deepen financial inclusion in emerging markets, with a focus on Latin America (Argentina, Mexico), Francophone West Africa, and Nigeria. Peter also leads UNSGSA global engagement on inclusive green finance and women’s financial inclusion. Peter previously worked for nine years at the World Bank Group on financial sector programs in Latin America and the Middle East. He holds a master’s degree in international development and international economics from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.

Policy Advisor, Office of the UNSGSA

Peter McConaghy

Sophia Sunderji serves as Director on the GIIN&#8217;s Research team, supporting the development and delivery of research on impact investing topics.
Prior to joining the GIIN, Sophia worked at the World Bank on collecting and analyzing globally comparable data to support sustainable agriculture and advise governments on policy reforms. She also worked on research and product development at the Aga Khan Foundation&#8217;s First MicroFinance Company in Kyrgyzstan. In this role, she performed research on client quality of life and satisfaction to assess the impact of loan products on borrowers. Sophia holds a Masters in Public Administration from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University and a BCom from McGill University.

Research Director

Sophia Sunderji

Jacob Tate is an associate for the GIIN’s Research team, where he works to collect, analyze, and disseminate key data in the impact investment field.
Prior to joining the GIIN, Jacob served in a variety of public and private sector roles. At the Texas Policy Lab, he worked as a researcher in human capital formation, collaborating with the state to ensure affordable preschooling for all. Jacob also spent time at Oliver Wyman on the tip-of-the-spear Human Insights team that pioneered consumer-oriented design in a variety of fields. Jacob holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Rice University.

Research Associate

Jacob Tate

Larry Reed is a 2019 CFI Research Fellow investigating how G2P (government-to-person) payments can be a more effective on-ramp for financial inclusion.
Larry is the Senior Fellow for Financial Inclusion at RESULTS, a citizen’s advocacy group seeking to bring about legislation and policies that contribute to the elimination of extreme poverty around the world. As an advocate for the expanded use of the Ultra-Poor Graduation Approach, Larry conducts research, writes articles and organizes events to help government leaders learn how to apply this approach to their anti-poverty social welfare programs. Larry also spent 13 years with Opportunity International, including five years as their Africa Regional Director and eight years as the first CEO of the Opportunity International Network.
Larry has authored the Global State of Ultra-Poverty, the State of the Microcredit Summit Campaign Reports from 2010 to 2016 and has contributed to several books on finance and the poor including “The New World of Microfinance” (Rhyne, Otero, et. al., 1996), “Serving with the Poor in Africa” (Yamamori, Myers, Bediako and Reed, 1996), “Globalization and the Kingdom of God” (Goudzwaard, 2001) and “More Pathways Out of Poverty” (Harris et. al., 2006).
Larry is a graduate of Wheaton College and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He and his wife Sandy have three children and three grandchildren.

Senior Fellow, RESULTS

Larry Reed

Dan Kleinbaum is a 2019 CFI Research Fellow investigating how fintechs and financial institutions are using APIs to reach underserved customers.
Dan is the Entrepreneur in Residence at <a href="http://www.dfslab.net/">DFS Lab</a>, where he is supporting the next wave of fintech companies and helping build out the global fintech ecosystem. Prior to joining DFS Lab, Dan co-founded and served as the Chief Operating Officer at Beyonic, a payment aggregator offering streamlined APIs and other tools for businesses to connect to mobile money networks throughout sub-Saharan Africa.

Entrepreneur in Residence, DFS Lab

Dan Kleinbaum

Vinita Godinho is the General Manager of Advisory Services at <a href="https://goodshepherdmicrofinance.org.au/">Good Shepherd Microfinance</a> (GSM), Australia’s largest microfinance provider. As part of her Fulbright Visiting Scholars Fellowship, Vinita is serving as a CFI Research Fellow focusing on behaviorally-informed interventions to improve the financial health and well-being of low-income families and individuals in Australia and elsewhere.
At GSM, Vinita has established a fully sustainable advisory and consulting function, focusing on inclusive finance, and leads the research function to provide policy, positioning, intellectual leadership and impact evaluation. She has over 20 years of financial sector experience as a banker in India and Australia and has been widely recognized as an influential and respected leader in financial inclusion, action research, community development and financial services, having completed her doctoral studies on financial inclusion and well-being for Indigenous Australians.

General Manager, Advisory Services, Good Shepherd Microfinance 

Vinita Godinho

Patrick Traynor is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) at the University of Florida. His research focuses on the security of mobile systems, with a concentration on telecommunications infrastructure and mobile devices. His research has uncovered critical vulnerabilities in cellular networks, made the first characterization of mobile malware in provider networks and offers a robust approach to detecting and combatting Caller-ID scams. He is also interested in Internet security and the systems challenges of applied cryptography. He received a CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation in 2010 and was named a Sloan Fellow in 2014.
Professor Traynor earned his Ph.D and M.S. in Computer Science and Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University in 2008 and 2004, respectively, and his B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Richmond in 2002. After promotion and tenure in the School of Computer Science at Georgia Tech, he joined the University of Florida in 2014 as part of the UFRising Preeminence Hiring Program. He is the co-director of the Florida Institute for Cybersecurity (FICS) and is also a co-founder of Pindrop Security.
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Associate Professor, University of Florida

Patrick Traynor

John Owens is an attorney and senior advisor who has provided technical advisory services, training, and research as well as managed several international development efforts focused on digital financial services, digital payments, financial inclusion, and agent networks for more than 25 years. John has also worked with regulators and policy makers across Latin America and the Caribbean as well as Asia and the Pacific, Africa, China, Eastern Europe, Russia, and the Middle East. He holds a JD in Law from Notre Dame Law School.

Independent Consultant

John Owens

Alexis Beggs Olsen is an independent consultant with twenty years of experience building the capacity of financial inclusion institutions and other social benefit organizations. As a CFI Fellow, she will explore the topic of effective human touch in Kenya&#8217;s digital financial landscape.
Alexis currently researches and develops content for the <a href="http://www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/abf-program-objectives/">Africa Board Fellowship Program</a> at the Center for Financial Inclusion and the Boulder Institute of Microfinance. Prior to consulting independently, Alexis was a Technical Advisor with Opportunity International specializing in governance as well as lending operations. She has worked in 28 countries. Alexis has a B.A. in International Development and Communications from Wheaton College.
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Alexis Beggs Olsen

Shreya is a Senior Research Associate with IFMR Lead’s Financial Inclusion team. Shreya has worked on impact evaluations of alternative financial delivery channels and livelihood rehabilitation programs, in partnership with NGOs. She is currently working on an exploratory study mapping digital financial services for the underserved in India. She has an undergraduate degree in economics from Singapore Management University.
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Senior Research Associate, IMFR Lead

Shreya Chatterjee

Misha Sharma is a Project Manager at IFMR Lead. She works with the Financial Inclusion team and is currently leading projects based out of South India evaluating the impact of access to finance on the overall well-being of the rural poor. Her research work primarily focuses on studying alternative channels of financial services for the poor.
Prior to joining IFMR Lead, Misha worked with Goldman Sachs as an Operations Analyst. Misha holds a Master’s Degree in Economics from University of Edinburgh and a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from Stella Maris College, Chennai.
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Project Manager, IMFR Lead

Misha Sharma

Justyna manages research projects and is the author of the annual publication on the state of microfinance industry in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. She also conducts market research studies in the demand for microfinance products (credit, savings, microinsurance), access to finance and the use of financial services, and indebtedness, using a variety of research techniques (e.g., focus group discussions, in-depth interviews, questionnaire-based surveys). Justyna has 20 years of experience working in development in Eastern European countries and the Commonwealth of Independent States. She has 12 years of experience in conducting microfinance research, including hands-on experience conducting qualitative research and quantitative data analysis using statistical software, and writing and publishing articles on the state of microfinance in the region.
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Research Manager, The Microfinance Centre

Justyna Pytkowska

Christy Stickney is an independent development consultant, and has worked in financial services and inclusive market development since 2010. Christy has been engaged in microfinance since 1993, having developed loan and savings products for women micro-entrepreneurs and then going on to design a variety of other types of financial products and services. She has worked in international development for over two decades, most recently with Habitat for Humanity International as Director of Housing Finance for Latin America and the Caribbean. During her time with Habitat, Christy oversaw a variety of programs seeking innovative approaches to housing microfinance, financial education, raising investment capital, leveraging remittance flows, and mobilizing government subsidies – all for improved housing.
Christy has also worked with Opportunity International, directing technical assistance and financial support to poverty-focused loan and savings programs around the world, and as a consultant with the Agros Foundation.
She has lived throughout Latin America and the Philippines, and is currently based in San Jose, Costa Rica.
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Christy Stickney

Leon Perlman is a doctoral-level expert in digital financial services, payments systems, financial inclusion, mobile technology, and compliance, with over 16 years of experience in the sector. He has experience advising central banks, finance ministries, the ITU, the Gates Foundation, GSMA, the World Bank/IFC, and the World Economic Forum.
A former scientist and successful entrepreneur, Leon has worked in the telecommunications and micro-payments industry since the mid 1990’s and has a wide range of experience in both developed and developing markets. Leon holds the degrees of BSc, BSc (Hons), MSc, BProc (Law), LLB, and LLD.
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Leon Perlman

Guy is Executive Director of Microfinance Opportunities (MFO). He has extensive experience conducting research on the financial capabilities of low-income consumers. His research has been published in books, peer reviewed journals, working papers, and blogs.
Before becoming Executive Director at MFO, Guy received his PhD from the University of Chicago in 1994, and subsequently worked in Chicago in the field of community economic development. He then served 13 years as a lecturer in public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, teaching courses in management and microfinance. Additionally, he was a Senior Advisor to MFO and served as Principal Investigator on five Financial Diaries studies and as project leader for the development of the Financial Capabilities Index Web Portal. He continues to teach in executive education programs at HKS, and is a fellow at the Ash Center.
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Executive Director, Microfinance Opportunities

Guy Stuart

Partners

FMO Entrepreneurial Development Bank

Accion

Mayada El-Zoghbi

Alexandra (Alex) Rizzi

This guide and accompanying brief consider how to consider gender-inequity issues from the outset when designing algorithms for inclusive finance.

API Deployment Recommendations

Related Work

This report was made possible with support from FMO Entrepreneurial Development Bank.

Recommendations to Optimize API Deployments Between Banks and Fintechs for Financial Inclusion

How secure is data used in digital credit?

What does responsible digital credit look like?

What does effective human touch look like in Kenya's digital age?

Despite significant progress toward digital financial inclusion in India, agents still matter for bringing low-income consumers into the digital financial services world.

CFI Fellow Justyna Pytkowska explores how financial services providers integrate interventions to improve financial capability into their business model.

Is G2P an On-Ramp to Financial Inclusion?

This analysis, conducted in three markets in Latin America and the Caribbean, highlights the characteristics of SME owners whose businesses have overcome significant hurdles and grown from their initial micro size.

Technology has been a pivotal and successful enabler of financial inclusion. However, even with each technical evolution, sets of technical, cost, competition, capacity and access challenges persist.

With millions of people worldwide receiving G2P payments, the potential for this scheme to serve as an on-ramp for financial inclusion is great. However, as 2016 CFI Fellow <a href="/government-to-person-transfers">Guy Stuart demonstrated</a>, G2P schemes often fall short of this goal, serving largely as mere payment repositories instead of a tool for economic advancement. Larry&#8217;s research will provide insight from the supply-side perspective, looking at the incentives, costs and ability of financial institutions to build an on-ramp that turns G2P recipients into long-term, productive customers.

Financial institutions of all sizes are finding that fintech partnerships can help them reach underserved customer segments. These partnerships frequently involve the use of APIs to create the necessary connections and data sharing between fintech and financial institution. However, it may be especially challenging for smaller financial institutions to benefit from such connections. For these providers in particular, knowledge of the landscape of APIs, including their costs and benefits, is critical to their ability to remain competitive. Dan’s research will help financial service providers and investors better understand APIs—their types, costs, and benefits—knowledge they need to thrive in a competitive marketplace.

Ten years after the advent of M-PESA, Kenya is arguably inclusive digital finance’s most mature market and one of its ongoing innovation epicenters. However, many financial service providers (FSPs) in the country are crowded at the disruptive low-touch or traditional high-touch ends of the spectrum. Initial inquiries have suggested that FSPs are increasingly motivated by the limitations at both ends of the spectrum to explore various middle paths, and FSPs want to find ways to protect their strategic advantages while leveraging the promises of technology and the power of human touch.
Over the course of one year, CFI Fellow Alexis Beggs Olsen investigated Kenya’s digital financial services (DFS) landscape, the reasons why customers still desire human touch, and the innovative ways in which FSPs integrate human interfaces into their digital product offerings to better serve customers. In Uniting Tech and Touch: Why Centaur Products Are Better for Consumers and Providers, Evidence from Kenya, Alexis takes us along the customer journeys of Kenyan DFS users to illuminate the circumstances where they prefer human touch, the variations in customer preferences across demographic characteristics, and the particular pain points of low-touch digital loans, savings and insurance products.
While there was widespread acceptance of digital transactions among respondents, Alexis finds that Kenyans primarily want human touch to verify the legitimacy of the FSP, to fully understand the product, and to resolve problems or complaints. To address these needs, Alexis recommends “centaur” solutions—ones that combine human and digital interfaces—to provide valuable human interaction to customers where it is needed most, while improving customer acquisition and retention in the process. FSPs, their customers, and the financial inclusion community can benefit from leveraging centaur solutions that combine the best of tech and touch to convert customers who are currently uncomfortable with these digital interfaces into regular digital financial services users.
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Although financial services are rapidly going digital, some customers, especially those new to the formal financial system or with lower levels of education, may still desire to interface with people—to build trust, to troubleshoot problems, and to receive advice on their financial lives. CFI Fellows Shreya Chatterjee and Misha Sharma are teaming up to explore the question of effective human touch in digital financial services as India transitions to a digital age.
<h2>Despite significant progress toward digital financial inclusion in India, agents still matter for bringing low-income consumers into the digital fold.</h2>
In Agents of Change: How the Human Touch Is Bridging Digital Financial Services to New Customers in India, the Fellows discuss how frontline banking agents can advance both the adoption of digital financial services (DFS) and greater financial inclusion among the poor and unbanked. In the report, Misha and Shreya evaluate the factors currently shaping the adoption of DFS by emerging consumers in India and assess the crucial role that agents play in helping to successfully transition their clients to digital platforms. Specifically, while agents largely assist with product adoption and use, their value to the financial sector and the financial institutions they represent goes beyond these responsibilities—they are the key to building trust, resolving problems, and ensuring value for customers. The report also articulates the state of agent practice in India and outlines 10 principal insights on training, equipping, and promoting financial product awareness among agents within the three types of assessed institutions—commercial banks, payment banks and microfinance institutions.
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Although financial services are rapidly going digital, some customers, especially those new to the formal financial system or with lower levels of education, may still desire to interface with people—to build trust, to troubleshoot problems, and to receive advice on their financial lives. CFI Fellows Shreya Chatterjee and Misha Sharma are teaming up to explore the question of effective human touch in digital financial services as India transitions to a digital age.
<h2>Despite significant progress toward digital financial inclusion in India, agents still matter for bringing low-income consumers into the digital fold.</h2>
In<a href="storage/Agents_of_Change_India_FINAL.pdf"> Agents of Change: How the Human Touch Is Bridging Digital Financial Services to New Customers in India</a>, the Fellows discuss how frontline banking agents can advance both the adoption of digital financial services (DFS) and greater financial inclusion among the poor and unbanked. In the report, Misha and Shreya evaluate the factors currently shaping the adoption of DFS by emerging consumers in India and assess the crucial role that agents play in helping to successfully transition their clients to digital platforms. Specifically, while agents largely assist with product adoption and use, their value to the financial sector and the financial institutions they represent goes beyond these responsibilities—they are the key to building trust, resolving problems, and ensuring value for customers. The report also articulates the state of agent practice in India and outlines 10 principal insights on training, equipping, and promoting financial product awareness among agents within the three types of assessed institutions—commercial banks, payment banks and microfinance institutions.
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Christy Stickney, CFI Fellow and independent consultant, highlights the characteristics of owners of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) whose businesses have overcome significant hurdles and grown from their micro size.
Christy has utilized qualitative research to identify and analyze clients of MFIs whose borrowing had increased significantly over time from the portfolios of three leading microfinance institutions in Latin America – MiBanco (Peru), Banco Solidario (Ecuador), and Banco ADOPEM (the Dominican Republic). As part of the research, Christy conducted 55 in-depth client interviews and consulted with institution staff. She identifies and describes in detail a select group of &#8220;growth entrepreneurs&#8221; (GEs) who operate higher growth businesses, have overcome significant growth hurdles, and express a clear vision for future business growth. Christy argues that this category of emerging SMEs holds great potential for future growth and job creation.
Christy also provides recommendations for financial institutions (including microfinance institutions [MFIs]), fintechs, governments, and other financial ecosystem actors to support growth and greater financial inclusion for emerging SMEs and growth entrepreneurs.
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Technology has been a pivotal and successful enabler of financial inclusion. However, even with each technical evolution, sets of technical, cost, competition, capacity and access challenges persist. CFI Research Fellow Leon Perlman looks at the advantages, disadvantages and challenges that fasten on the existing and evolving technologies, bearer services, access platforms and user devices for mobile financial services (MFS) in Technology Inequality: Opportunities and Challenges for Mobile Financial Services. His on-the-ground research conducted in 12 different countries finds that smartphone-enabled MFS is not an impending panacea for financial inclusion. Due to the slow spread of reliable, high-quality 3G coverage and sufficiently capable smartphones, the majority of MFS will be accessed on feature phones, using Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD), SIM Application Toolkit (STK) and java-applets, rather than internet-enabled smartphones, for the foreseeable future.
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In this research, Guy Stuart, assesses whether and how G2P payments increase formal financial inclusion. Stuart coupled observations, interviews and focus groups in Colombia and Pakistan with extensive analysis of reports on G2P payments covering 19 countries and quantitative data from the <a href="http://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/globalfindex">World Bank Global Findex</a>.
While Stuart’s research identifies five key mechanisms by which G2P payments could lead to greater financial inclusion, the evidence ultimately suggests that G2P beneficiaries do not take advantage of the basic and common functionality of these programs.
Stuart provides insightful recommendations for government and the private sector to design better products, optimize delivery of payments, and effectively communicate the advantages of these programs to beneficiaries.
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